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Modernised import taxes would be better than ethanol in Guyana

Mar 27, 2014 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
Referring to recent reports of an ethanol plant proposed for Guyana, I would like to draw attention of the public and government officials to facts about ethanol in petrol engines.
Ethanol is only used in new cars under manufacturer warranty, not recommended for used cars without having the fuel system replaced; ethanol corrodes engines and fuel system components shortening their lifespan.
Brazil has ethanol as standard because the cars are manufactured and engineered in Brazil for ethanol mix petrol.
Ethanol is less dense than petrol requiring more for combustion, meaning you have to buy more gas/ethanol mix fuel than regular petrol. Ethanol is used as a fuel alternative instead of importing fuel; it is not an environmental-friendly substitute, since plants grown for ethanol are not for food consumption. Ethanol farms use far more toxic chemicals to achieve growth, thus poisoning groundwater. This is one the main reasons ethanol production is being reduced in the USA.
Basically, ethanol mix petrol makes no sense to the Guyanese public and will create economic hardship with poor fuel economy and damaged engines.
If Guyana wants to reduce its petrol import bill, the simplest solutions would be to import 1000cc and smaller Japanese cars and European clean diesel cars – both achieve above 60 miles per gallon as opposed to 28 miles per gallon of 1500cc cars such as the Toyota Allion. 1000cc cars are taxed almost the same as 1500cc cars, encouraging the purchase of the larger gas guzzlers. Diesel European cars are reaching 80 miles per gallon. New, more fuel-efficient cars are taxed at 45% duty, 30% excise tax and 16% VAT, forcing the public to buy inefficient, older cars.
An updated modern car tax regime will cut Guyana’s fuel import bill in half and benefit the public greatly.
A. Isaacs 

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